Karen Williams, in her wise and encouraging way, brought together a group of beaders to dig into their UFO pile with the mission of finishing one or more of them. Karen's great at giving me a kick in the creative pants, so I had to jump in. Read all the way down, because this one took several turns along the way...

Several years ago, I wanted to build a necklace around a lovely abalone cabochon.

The original vision was for one side of the necklace to be a Cellini spiral, with the other side a multi-strand collection of pearls. The Cellini spiral turned out great, but I couldn't get the multi-strand part of lay correctly, no matter how many times I tried.

It wasn't ugly, but it certainly wasn't right. In fact, it was so not right, I never took a picture of it. Just took the pearls off and put it aside into the UFO pile.

Until Karen's nudge. There weren't enough of the seed beads I used in the spiral to make a matching side, so that option was off the table. I decided to try the pearl idea again, this time in a braid or other structured format.

But again, it didn't work. This is that version, but this is not the final result of the challenge:

Yeah, again not right. So far from what I had in my imagination.

So what to do? I took a deep breath, picked up a pair of sharp scissors, and cut that spiral in half.

Gulp.

The resulting halves were too short to be a necklace, so I had to finish them off and add a couple of purple jade and sterling silver beads to make a necklace that I could wear without choking. The final version, while not what I had originally imagined, is wearable, satisfying, and most importantly, complete.

Whew! Thanks, Karen, for providing the motivation and the accountability. Now, go check out what some of my beady buddies have finished from their own UFO collection:

13 comments:

That act of bravery to cut the spiral!! I can't even imagine. The spiral is indeed perfect for the focal, and I can't imagine that you would have been able to find or make anything additional that would have worked as well with it. Awesome job finding that courage and making this beauty of a necklace complete! You're my hero!

OH. MY. GOODNESS. Bobbie, you really had me gasping in awe and horror while I read this post. I'm incredibly impressed that you cut that stunning cellini spiral to finally get the look you desired. And you really knocked it out of the park. The color way on that spiral absolutely took my breath away. The entire piece is a showstopper!

I have such Celini envy! you do the most beautiful beadwork!!! I'm not sure I'd be able to cut straight through it - you are brave! but in the end it came together amazingly well. Just like it was always meant to be. Well done! phew :)

I love how the Cellini spiral makes me think of seashells - it pairs so beautifully with your abalone cabochon. I totally see where you were trying to go with the pearls on one side. It's interesting how heavy they looked in the design.

You are so brave, cutting the spiral. I really like how you finished off the necklace with the silver findings and purple jade. And now all of your spiral will be visible when you wear the necklace!

Thanks so much for joining in! I was really very selfish in my setting up this UFO hop as I needed the extra push to get me over my creative hump. :)

I'm glad you finished this. It's so beautiful it shouldn't languish unloved. The Cellini is amazing. I think the one long side is just a little too overpowering. Cutting it was the perfect answer. You did what had to be done, and your risk was well rewarded! Someone is going to come by your fair table, take one look at this completed UFO, and fall madly in love with it.

Hi Bobbie,It is very frustrating when you have an idea in your minds eye, but in reality it just does not work. Tell me how many times did you bring the blade to the spiral until you actually cut it? You my friend are a lot braver than I, but the end result is beautiful. Therese

Wow! What a long journey for one piece, but kudos to you for persisting. I know well the struggle of having a vision that just isn't working they way you want it to. It's easy to give up and just be disappointed in the piece. It is much harder to cut it apart and try again, and again until you get it right. For me, this is often how things end up in the UFO drawer in the first place. And cutting a finished spiral in half!!! I would have totally freaked out at that, but it was just what it needed. The finished piece is lovely. Thank you for sharing your problem solving journey. It's good for people to know that the creative process isn't always simple.

I would like to personally congratulate you as your blog Beadsong Jewelry has been selected by our panelist as one of the Top 100 Bead Blogs on the web.

http://blog.feedspot.com/bead_blogs/

I personally give you a high-five and want to thank you for your contribution to this world. This is the most comprehensive list of Top 100 Bead Blogs on the internet and I’m honored to have you as part of this!

I would like to personally congratulate you as your blog Beadsong Jewelry has been selected by our panelist as one of the Top 50 Handmade Jewelry Blogs on the web.

http://blog.feedspot.com/handmade_jewelry_blogs/

I personally give you a high-five and want to thank you for your contribution to this world. This is the most comprehensive list of Top 50 Handmade Jewelry Blogs on the internet and I’m honored to have you as part of this!